Released in 2000 by Warner Bros. in partnership with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, Pokémon: The Movie 2000 arrived at the peak of Pokémania, when the franchise dominated American playgrounds and television schedules alike. Following the surprise box office success of the first Pokémon film, this sequel pushed further into event territory, with theatrical trailers playing a key role in building anticipation months ahead of release. Those trailer reels, cut for 35mm theatrical distribution, now stand as artifacts of a specific marketing moment, preserved fragments of the campaign that introduced legendary Pokémon to mainstream moviegoing audiences beyond the core fanbase.
This cell comes from that trailer reel and centers on Lugia, the legendary Pokémon whose presence anchors the film's plot and its promotional identity. Lugia's pairing with Ho-Oh reflects the mythic weight the two legendaries carried in the Pokémon canon of this era, figures tied to balance and renewal within the franchise's expanding lore. Collectors prize Lugia material from this release for its scarcity and its connection to the character's defining cinematic appearance. A trailer cell like this represents the promotional apparatus itself, the frames built to sell anticipation rather than narrate story.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release trailer print of Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
Gauge
35mm: four perforations per frame along both edges, and the strip holds three frames, each in a tall narrow picture area.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle punches that look cleanly cut, with no torn or distorted holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track with dashed lines and bright waveform bands runs beside the picture, and speckled blocks between the lower perforations suggest Dolby Digital data.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue-tinted clear base at the edges, with a saturated, neutral-to-cool purple dye image and no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
None seen at this size apart from the camera reflection on one frame, which is ignored.
Picture
Positive image, three consecutive frames of one shot; the picture is abstract and nothing here contradicts or identifies the film on record.
Era check
Consistent with a 2000-era 35mm print, since an optical track plus Dolby Digital data between the perforations was standard for release prints and trailers then.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000071269
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
